Talk:Proposed features/vending machine

Looks a well-thought out proposal and I cannot think of any problems or more useful alternatives. Unless someone else can, it gets my vote. MikeCollinson 10:09, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

I don't want to oppose the vending machine proposal, but I'm strictly against tagging ticket machines in subway stations. It's okay, if there are a few special vending machines around a town, but public transport tickets are more or less sold in every permanent station, e.g. subway, which is tagged already. And you find condoms in nearly every pubs restroom around here. I guess that would be really hard work to tag them all. Furthermore I do like the logo as long as it is optional, maybe in a special tool searching for a specific type of vending machines. -BearT 10:34, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Good thougt. I will add something for already covered location where you can find a vending machine. -- Aikon 19:14, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Packstationen

Do you think parcel pickup machines and parcel sending machines are a good value here? See Packstationen --Lulu-Ann 16:44, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

They do not sell anything1), thus they are no vending machines. It's simply a different thing that needs its own tag.1) They might sometimes sell stamps or similar items, but that's not their primary function. --Tordanik 20:16, 15 August 2008 (UTC)

In principle this concept is also open for extension to any kind if selling / vending / collecting machines. As we find mort and more machines offering some kind of service and good at the same time, it might be hard in some cases to differentiate between these categories.

In the case of packingstations I would prefer to keep those machines for now in a separate category even if they are able to sell stamps and services like sending a parcel. If these machines are becoming more a type of a shop without a shopkeeper then we have to think again. Aikon 11:42, 31 August 2008 (UTC)

...makes no sense!

Just out of curiosity - why do people think that mapping e.g. cigarette vending machines is ok, but tagging sweets vending machines makes no sense? I did read that vending machines at all are not a useful landmark, and that they are not a useful point of reference for navigation - this might be true, but we're not only creating a street map, but providing free geographic data to anyone. --Avatar 06:31, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

And your envisioned practical use of the locations of vending machines, facilities which are invariably located near or in some other facility, is ... ? Chriscf 11:26, 15 September 2008 (UTC)

That's quite easy. Just think about the following situation: You met a nice girl at a friends party, but your condoms are out (too many girls this night ;) ) and your friend don't want to give you one of his. So what are you doing? You're looking for a condom selling machine! How would this be easier than with OSM? Or other situation: you are going to a date and your breath smells like XXX, it's sunday evening, the shops are closed. Where can you find a chewing gum selling machine? Correct: In OSM ;) S.A.L. 10:34, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

I was serious. What is the practical use of this information? That's "practical" as in "not made up on the spot or contrived for the situation". I mean, OSMers getting laid? Are you kidding me? ;-)Chriscf 10:54, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

The practical use is: If the shops are closed, here you can get what you desire. You won't want to remove shops from the map, do you? --Lulu-Ann 15:37, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

Merging with other tags?

I started to discuss this in the now abandoned cigarette machine tag draft page and here's what I came up with, which I think is important:

I think restricting ourselves to vending machines is an error. There should be a generic way to say: at this node you can find cigarettes. I'm pretty sure that for most people the most important information is where to find cigarettes (or any specefic good also sold in vending machines, but I started my reflection with cigarettes). That means there has to be a generic way of expressing that cigarettes are sold. Not only that but in some countries (at least in France) cigarettes vending machine are illegal and you can only find them in kiosks or "bars-tabac" which means there's currently no real way to tag the fact they sell cigarettes as they're neither a kiosk nor a vending machine. I'm not dead sure yet it's the best way of achieving that, but I think the generic aspect of the vending machine node is both a strength and a weakness. For instance, cigarettes, parking tickets, cold drinks (non exhaustive list) can all be bought at shops/restaurants/booth and vending machines. Tagging the availability of those goods should be done in a generic way among all those type of nodes so that search for these type of goods can be done without having to use a syntax for vending machines, another one for kiosks and a third one for pubs, etc...

If there are no vending machines for cigarettes, you can use shop=tabacco. --Lulu-Ann 15:39, 3 November 2008 (UTC)